Back in 2010, gamers saw the release of 4A Games’ sleeper hit Metro 2033 which received universal praise thanks to its phenomenal narrative. Several years following its release, the team behind the first game is back to bring Metro: Last Light. Assuming the game retains a good storyline just like the first game, does the game have anything else to offer to fans?

Let’s take a look on what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of Metro: Last Light.

HOT

Impressive Story
Just like the first game, Last Light succeeds in providing a phenomenal storyline where it has a mix of everything; supernatural, horror, politics, and drama. Following the events of Metro 2033, the young Artyom is back and he is tasked by the Order to find the one remaining Dark One that is suspected as an abomination to the people of Metro. With the surface of Moscow still radiated following the great war, Artryom must pull all of the strings to find the last Dark One as he goes through tunnels, dark caves, and unsafe settlements. A story of politics will once again be the main issue Artyom will be seeing in Last Light where fans can expect to see the Reds, the Nazis, the Order and the Hanzas fighting for power.

The journey of Artyom in Last Light is a tough one though it’s an interesting one to see. There are a lot of themes that are discussed in this game where just watching the story unfold feels like it was adapted from a book as the pace is just great. There are a variety of mature scenes where fans will see how the people of Metro handle their lives living underground for so many years. Sex, lust, and greed are one of the themes that you are expect to see when it comes to mature scenes in the game.

Since the story and dialogue is created by the author who brought us Metro 2033, one of the things gamers can expect in Last Light is a well paced story. The narration by Artyom will be convincing enough to persuade gamers to build a connection between the game. Expect unexpected plot twists and some climatic scenes that is sure to keep players at the edge of their seats. Gamers who never had a chance to play Metro 2033 can still enjoy Last Light as the beginning scenes will show a summary as to what happened in the first game. The basic knowledge of the events from the first game will be shown through a somewhat lengthy scene, thus gamers who decide to give Last Light a go will not get lost in the game’s story.

Phenomenal Visuals
Metro Last Light has one of the best visuals I’ve seen in all of the PC games I’ve played. Gamers who have a decent graphics card capable on maxing out the game will be able to take advantage of 4A’s game engine where environments, and visuals are simply extraordinary. The fogs that gamers will see that creeps through the tunnel will seem real enough to build tension and fear. The post apocalyptic Moscow on the surface looks pretty with all of the effects kicking in like rain, snow, wind and other environmental changes that shows the realism that will please everyone guaranteed. Compared to the visuals in Metro 2033, Last Light has improved slightly into everything, especially to the lighting and shadows. When it comes to character designs, it looks real enough and those who will play on consoles will see a difference, although not in a big way.

As for the console version, it’s slightly inferior to the PC version. Differences between the PC and Xbox 360 are notable but not in a big way where it simply looks horrible. It seems one of the good things in 4A Engine is the ability for it to be versatile when its on the console. The visuals 4A wants to convey to the console owners are delivered successfully though one thing console version cannot get from the PC version of Last Light is the lighting that will depict realism and detail to every thing you see in the game, although it’s not a bad port anyway. If the PC version is any indication on what the PS4 and the next Xbox will offer, it sure is one pretty game that gamers will be excited to see.

Improved Gameplay
Comparing the improvements between Metro 2033 and Last Light, I must say that the game improved in certain aspects. Those who complained to the limited weapons that they have to choose from in Metro 2033, Last Light added a few more to make Artryom unstoppable in fighting of the mutants. The HUD is slightly tweaked and the controls are changed as well. Instead of pushing the directional buttons to change weapons, it can now be done by pressing the Y button. Pretty much, the controls that you will see in Metro Last Light are a lot better than 2033 since 4A adapted some of the common controls like accessing menus from other first person shooter games. This a good thing since Metro 2033 controls needed some time to get used to.

The legal stuff

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